Skip To Content
JEWISH. INDEPENDENT. NONPROFIT.
Breaking News

Israel-Bound Jewish Families Rescued From Strife-Torn Donetsk Airport

Israel’s Jewish Agency came to the rescue of two Jewish Ukranian families after rebels seized control of Donetsk airport as they were waiting to emigrate to Israel, an agency spokesman said on Tuesday.

The two families, numbering six people, were stranded at the airport when it was shut down on Monday. The agency then launched a “fast-paced operation, spokesman Avi Mayer said.

The families were driven to the Ukrainian city of Dnepropetrovsk then flown to Kiev where they boarded a plane for Tel Aviv, Mayer said. He gave no further details.

The Jewish Agency handles relations with Jews around the world and cooperates with Israel’s Immigration Ministry.

Jewish immigration from Ukraine has more than doubled since the start of the year over 2013 figures, the agency said. Israel has seen 762 immigrants arrive from Ukraine between January and April, compared to 315 over the same period a year ago.

The agency is preparing to help facilitate the departure of more families from Donetsk should the hostilities there continue.

Agency chairman Natan Sharansky, a former Soviet disident who was born in Donetsk, said in a statement: “Due to the current situation in the country we have significantly expanded our activities, assisting those who wish to immigrate to Israel.”

An estimated 11,000 Jews live in Donetsk and about 130,000 in all of Ukraine.

An Israeli immigration official said some recent newcomers from Ukraine to Israel had flown in initially as tourists then asked for citizenship. Israeli law offers citizenship to any Jews who apply for it.

Sharansky himself was jailed for his human rights activities in the then Soviet Union and was freed in 1986 after nine years in prison as part of an East-West spy swap.

A message from our CEO & publisher Rachel Fishman Feddersen

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism during this critical time.

We’ve set a goal to raise $260,000 by December 31. That’s an ambitious goal, but one that will give us the resources we need to invest in the high quality news, opinion, analysis and cultural coverage that isn’t available anywhere else.

If you feel inspired to make an impact, now is the time to give something back. Join us as a member at your most generous level.

—  Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO

With your support, we’ll be ready for whatever 2025 brings.

Republish This Story

Please read before republishing

We’re happy to make this story available to republish for free, unless it originated with JTA, Haaretz or another publication (as indicated on the article) and as long as you follow our guidelines. You must credit the Forward, retain our pixel and preserve our canonical link in Google search.  See our full guidelines for more information, and this guide for detail about canonical URLs.

To republish, copy the HTML by clicking on the yellow button to the right; it includes our tracking pixel, all paragraph styles and hyperlinks, the author byline and credit to the Forward. It does not include images; to avoid copyright violations, you must add them manually, following our guidelines. Please email us at [email protected], subject line “republish,” with any questions or to let us know what stories you’re picking up.

We don't support Internet Explorer

Please use Chrome, Safari, Firefox, or Edge to view this site.